Storyline 1: Using the Clipboard

The Storyline clipboard allows you to cut, copy, paste, and duplicate content in your course. You can also use a handy clipboard feature called the Format Painter to quickly apply attributes from one object to another. In this tutorial we’ll get acquainted with Storyline’s clipboard tools so you can speed your development time.

Cutting, Copying, Pasting, and Duplicating Entire Slides or Objects on Them

When you’re working with slide content, either on your course slides (in Normal View) or on your slide masters (in Slide Master View or Feedback Master View), there are several things you can do with the clipboard.

First, select the items you want to work with:

To select an entire slide, click the slide thumbnail in the left column of the editing window. If you want to cut or copy multiple slides, you can use Shift+Click to select multiple consecutive slides, or use Ctrl+Click to select multiple nonconsecutive slides.

To select a specific item on a slide, click on that item. You can use Shift+Click or Ctrl+Click to select multiple items on the slide, or you can click and drag a bounding box around the items you want to select. You can also select objects by clicking them on the Storyline timeline. (Learn more about using the timeline here.)

To duplicate the items you've selected, do any of the following.

Press Ctrl+D on your keyboard.

Or, on the Home tab, click the small arrow next to the Copy option and choose Duplicate .

Or, right-click the item and choose Duplicate.

To cut the selected item(s), do any of the following. When you cut an item, it'll disappear from view, but Storyline will keep it on the clipboard for pasting until you cut or copy something else.

Press Ctrl+X on your keyboard.

Or, on the Home tab, click the Cut option.

Or, right-click the item and choose Cut

To copy selected items to the Storyline clipboard, do any of the following. When you copy an item, Storyline keeps it on the clipboard for pasting until you cut or copy something else.

Press Ctrl+C on your keyboard.

Or, on the Home tab, click the Copy option.

Or, right-click the item and choose Copy.

To paste the content that you've most recently cut or copied to your clipboard, do any of the following:

Press Ctrl+V on your keyboard.

Or, right-click on your slide and choose Paste.

Or, click the Paste option on the ribbon. If an object you’re pasting has some formatting related to a design theme (such as a theme color), it’ll pick up the design theme from the destination where you paste it. If you want it to retain its original formatting instead, you can click the arrow at the bottom of the Paste option and choose Keep Source Formatting.

Quickly Copying Formatting With the Format Painter

In Normal View, Slide Master View, and Feedback Master View, the clipboard function includes a handy tool called the Format Painter. It allows you to quickly copy formatting from one object to another. This includes text formatting, as well as any attributes you've applied to images, shapes, captions, and characters. And if you've assigned any states or triggers to the item you're copying from, the Format Painter copies those too.

Here's how to use it:

On any slide or slide master, select the item whose formatting you want to copy.

Click the Format Painter (paintbrush) icon. Your cursor will change into an arrow with a paintbrush to let you know that the Format Painter is active.

Want to reapply formatting to multiple items? You can double-click the Format Painter, which keeps it active until you turn it off. This way, you can continue applying the same formatting to as many items as you like. To turn the Format Painter back off again, just click the paintbrush icon on the ribbon or press Esc on your keyboard.

Using the Clipboard in Story View to Cut, Copy, Paste, and Duplicate Slides or Scenes

The clipboard is available in Story View, too. Here’s how you can use it:

First, select the items you want to work with:

To select an individual slide, click on the slide title or the slide thumbnail. You can select multiple slides by using Shift+Click to select multiple consecutive slides, or Ctrl+Click to select multiple nonconsecutive slides. When you select a slide, it’ll have a yellow outline.

To select an entire scene, click the scene title or the gray bounding area of the scene. When you select a scene, it’ll have a yellow outline.